Near the Holly
by OmG-iTs-MeAgAn
Summary: Spencer is trying to deal with his feelings for Hotch, but when the team arrives in Vegas on a case, he finds himself forced to deal with a tradegy from his past. Once Hotch gets involved, both he and Spencer are in danger when they are kidnapped. R&R!
1. I Want to Go Home

Near the Holly

Chapter One

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: My first Reid/Hotch story.(: So, basically, Spencer likes Hotch A LOT but is too scared to do anything about it. He has his own problems to deal with, anyway, such as a past tragedy involving a girl named Hollis (hence, the title) and a serial killer (of course!). Meanwhile, the BAU team heads off to Nevada on a case, only to run into Detective Kimberlee Sota, a woman who Spencer grew up with when he was a little kid. She brings up Spencer's previously-mentioned tragedy, and he begins a solo investigation that will eventually get himself and Hotch in some pretty deep trouble with a very devious kidnapper. Enjoy!(:**

Spencer Reid was finding it increasingly difficult to pay attention to what Hotch was saying. He was discussing something about the case, and Spencer was sure it was very important, but he was personally much more interested in his own thoughts at the moment.

Such as how Aaron Hotchner could quite possibly be the most attractive man he had ever laid eyes upon.

It was quite a possibility. Spencer found Hotch's appearance rather admirable. Spencer could get lost in his deep brown eyes when he spoke to him, which was what was happening at this exact moment as they were on the BAU private jet.

The more Spencer tried to listen to all that was going on around him, the more he seemed to get lost within the eyes of his superior.

Spencer shook his head and sighed softly. He had to concentrate at the task at hand. This case was important, and there was an unsub to catch before he harmed anyone else. Anyway, why in hell was he spending his time daydreaming of Hotch, of all people? Spencer chewed on his bottom lip in an attempt to control himself from thinking any more about Hotch's eyes or the smell of his shampoo in his hair that wafted into the air as he walked past, or the way he could stare into a person's soul simply by –

ENOUGH!

Spencer mentally screamed at himself to shut up. He needed to focus. Why did Hotch have to be so beautiful? Why did Spencer have to be so attracted to him?

Spencer was – finally – pulled away from his own mind by Morgan calling his name.

"Reid!"

Spencer's head shot up. "Yeah? Sorry, I was just…thinking."

"Obviously." Morgan flashed a grin. "I called your name three times."

"Oh." Spencer's cheeks quickly grew a shade darker. _Way to go, genius_. He scolded himself. "Sorry."

"What were you thinking about?" JJ jumped into the conversation.

"Uhh, I was just thinking about how it will be nice to be back in Las Vegas." Spencer replied, trying to keep the tone of his voice casual and steady. _Ha, that was a good one_. He told himself. In reality, Spencer hated cases near Las Vegas. Something always seemed to either go wrong or something personal came up. Spencer liked to have some privacy, thank you very much. He didn't need the team, as much as he loved them like a family, to know absolutely every detail about him and his past.

Hotch raised his eyes from the file in front of him and looked over to the seats on the plane across from him where Morgan, Spencer, JJ, Emily, and Rossi were all seated. "Can we please concentrate?"

"Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir." JJ, Spencer, and Morgan all mumbled their apologies to Hotch.

_He'll never love you back. Just get over this stupid crush and focus!_ Spencer managed to push his thoughts aside and – finally – listen to what Hotch was saying.

"The unsub is killing once every three days or so, with the last kill happening yesterday. It is crucial that we work quickly to avoid another murder." Hotch looked at his watch. "We should be landing in about twenty minutes. I hope I didn't bore you all too much." Spencer felt his pulse speed up, and his eyes widened. He swore he saw Hotch's glance land on him as he spoke his last sentence. Great, just what Spencer needed. Hotch knew that he had been daydreaming while he had been talking.

Spencer sighed. He hated this case already.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

The team arrived outside the Las Vegas Police Department a short while later and was greeted by a tall woman in her late thirties. She smiled largely at them, and removed her sunglasses, revealing her bright green eyes. She squinted when she saw the bright Vegas sun, but her smile remained just as large.

"Ah, the BAU. We've been expecting you." She extended her arm out to Hotch.

Hotch hook her hand and began to speak. "You must be Detective Sota. These are agents Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau, Rossi, and Doctor Reid."

Detective Sota shook each agent's hand until she reached Spencer. As Hotch spoke his name, she looked into his face, and let out a small gasp. Spencer's mouth was already hanging wide open in complete surprise.

"Well I'll be!" Detective Sota exclaimed. "Spencer Reid, is that really you?"

The agents standing with Detective Sota and Spencer shared an intrigued glance.

Spencer gave a small smile. "Uh, hi Kimmie."

Detective Sota wrinkled her nose. "Oh, no one's called me that in years! Just call me Kimberlee now." She put a hand on her hip. "Well, who would've thought little Spencer would grow up to be in the FBI?"

Spencer smiled again. "Who would've thought you would become a detective?"

Kimberlee shrugged and smiled. "I guess it's been too long since we've seen each other. How long has it been? I haven't seen you since…" She trailed off as she remembered, and the smiles fell off of both of their faces. "Oh. Well, it's, uh, it's been a long time since then."

"Almost twenty-three years." Spencer said softly. Kimberlee chewed on her bottom lip, and an awkward moment passed as the team watched, wondering what was going on.

Kimberlee cleared her throat. "How's your mother doing?"

"She's well." Spencer said quickly. His mother's health was not necessarily a topic he liked to discuss.

"Good." Kimberlee paused and looked Spencer over. "Well, it's nice to know that you're doing okay." Kimberlee seemed to be silently having a secret conversation with Spencer, and Morgan and Emily shared a glance.

_It's nice to know that you're doing okay._ Spencer thought over Kimberlee's sentence.

_In other words, it's nice to know you aren't crazy like your mother._

_In other words, it's nice to know you aren't a runaway like your father._

_In other words, it's nice to know you aren't dead like –_

Spencer cleared his mind as Kimberlee began to speak once again.

"Well, anyway, back to the case." Kimberlee clasped her hands together. "We have a little meeting room set up for your team inside. Follow me, please." Kimberlee led the agents into the building, pausing when she reached a door at the end of the hallway. "Here we are." She opened the door to reveal a room filled with a large table surrounded in chairs, along with a white board and corkboard near the front of the room.

Hotch looked inside the room and nodded. He stepped inside, and the rest of the team followed suit. They all stood near the front of the room, near the large map of the area and the water machine. "Thank you for setting this up for us."

Kimberlee gave him a small smile. "Of course. Anything we can do to help. You're certainly helping us with this case, after all." She ran a hand through her long, curly, auburn hair.

As Kimberlee spoke, Morgan nudged Spencer in his hip.

"Ow!" Spencer pulled away from Morgan with a yelp. He looked around the room and became relieved upon noticing that, surprisingly, no one else on the team had seen his reaction.

Morgan snickered at Spencer, and the young man scowled. "Not funny, Morgan." He whispered. "What was that for?"

"I just wanted to get your attention. I didn't mean for you to go all psycho on me, man." Morgan held up his hands in defense. He titled his head in the direction of Kimberlee, who was talking near the front of the room. "So, tell me about her."

"Kimberlee?" Spencer furrowed his brow, confused.

Morgan rolled his eyes. "No, I'm talking about JJ." He said sarcastically. "Yes, I mean Kimberlee!" He whacked Spencer in the back of the head, and Spencer scowled at him once again. "Or should I say, your past fling?"

Spencer frowned. "What are you getting at, Derek?"

"C'mon kid." Morgan smiled at Spencer. "Don't pretend to be all oblivious about it. You two were a 'thing' growing up, weren't you?"

Spencer's cheeks grew red. Morgan couldn't have been more wrong. _If only he knew…_

"She's eight years older than me." Spencer pointed out. "And I haven't even seen her since I was, like, twelve years old. She wasn't my girlfriend, thank you very much."

Morgan nodded slightly, but the twinkle in his eyes told Spencer that he didn't believe him. Spencer sighed and faced Kimberlee once again, who had been talking to them all about the case. _Great._ Spencer thought to himself. _Now I don't know anything she's just said about the case. I hate cases in Las Vegas. _

He fixed his gaze upon Kimberlee. He hadn't seen her in over twenty-two years, almost twenty-three. He had been only eight years at the time, and she was sixteen. After The Accident, he stopped seeing her around their neighborhood. She was in the hospital for quite some time, and then her parents had her homeschooled to make up for the school time she had missed. And by that time, Spencer was twelve years old and preparing to enter college.

Spencer's eyes traveled along Kimberlee's face. While she still was similar to her sixteen-year-old self, she did look quite a bit different. After all, she had to have quite a bit of plastic surgery after The Accident. Her nose was thinner, and Spencer noticed the faint, thin, white scar that traveled down from Kimberlee's right jaw to –

"Reid!"

Spencer had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Hotch calling his name. Finally, after Hotch had said his name three times, Spencer snapped out of his own mind and looked over at his superior. The entire team – and Kimberlee – was staring at him. Spencer felt his entire face growing hot, and he attempted to respond to Hotch.

"Sorry, I – I was just, I mean, I was, um – well, I was trying to –" Spencer trailed off and swallowed hard. "Sorry." He managed to squeak out. He swore he heard Morgan snicker next to him.

Hotch's face showed a glimmer of a worried expression, but just as soon as it appeared, it went away. In its place was Hotch's regular, emotionless, serious expression. Normally, Spencer would have admired Hotch's face, but he was too busy trying to stop himself from blushing like a crazed fool.

"I want you to try and find the unsub's comfort zone on the map." He said simply. Spencer nodded and let out his breath.

"Morgan, you and I are going to where Brianna Tyson's body was dumped by the unsub. Dave and Prentiss, head over to the morgue and analyze the bodies. JJ, stay with Reid and wait until he has the comfort zone located before contacting the media. Kimberlee, I'd like you to stay as well and fill Reid in on everything you know about the case. It could help with narrowing down his location."

The team mumbled their approval, and everyone began to disperse. Spencer turned toward the map, but, before he could begin to work, he heard Hotch's voice behind him.

"Reid, could I have a word with you?"

Spencer felt chills run up his back as Hotch spoke his sentence, and he spun around, nervously. Hotch motioned for Spencer to follow him into the hallway. Morgan gave a confused look. "I'll, uh, I'll wait in the car." He finally said, and he left as Hotch and Spencer exited the room.

Away from earshot of the others, Hotch began to speak. "You seemed to have a problem concentrating earlier. Is everything alright?"

Spencer blushed slightly. "Sorry. I got distracted. It won't happen again."

Hotch hesitated before responding. "Is it…because of Kimberlee? Do you have a problem working with her?"

Spencer had to use every ounce of self-control in his body not to let his mouth fall open. _No, no, no, no, no! _ He thought to himself. _Hotch thinks she's your ex-girlfriend, too! _ Spencer made an irritated noise in the back of his throat, which caused Hotch to raise his eyebrow at him. Spencer's heart began to flutter. Why did Hotch have to mess with his emotions?

"I know what you're getting at, and I have no problem with Kimmie – I mean, Kimberlee. Trust me." Spencer crossed his arms in front of himself defensively out of instinct. Hotch seemed to be unsure whether or not he believed him, and Spencer inwardly sighed. _It isn't Kimberlee who is upsetting you. _The little voice in his head mocked him. Spencer knew that it was the truth.

"Okay. Get back to work." Hotch finally replied. He walked off down the hall, and Spencer watched him disappear before re-entering the work room.

_If only Hotch knew the truth…not just about Kimberlee, but about my feeling toward him…_

When Spencer entered the room, he found JJ and Kimberlee talking to one another as though they had known each other for years. He shook his head to himself. How were girls able to do that?

"Oh! Hey Spence." JJ spoke up as she noticed Spencer. She pointed towards the door Spencer had just entered from. "What was that about?"

Spencer rolled his eyes. "If by the word 'that' you mean Hotch's speech, then it was about me not being able to concentrate."

JJ and Kimberlee both smiled, and JJ replied to Spencer. "Eh, it happens to the best of us. Don't worry about it."

_Oh, trust me, I have much bigger things to worry about, and they don't include my lack of attention._ Spencer thought.

He walked up to the map, and picked up a file lying nearby. At least he had something to take his mind off of Hotch, Las Vegas, and his personal life. However, it was rather hard to concentrate when there were two women chatting away next to him as though they were best friends who hadn't seen each other in fifteen years. Spencer sighed. It was going to be a very long day.

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Well, this chapter was kinda shorter than I expected, but I hope you all enjoyed it! (: Next chapter things will begin to get interesting, I promise. (:


	2. I Want to Help Hollis

Near the Holly

Chapter Two

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: Thanks to all reviewers! :) I'm glad so many of you like the story so far! Also, in case any of you were wondering, this is NOT the sequel to my other story ****The Funny Thing about Friends****. That sequel should be posted soon. Sorry for the wait! :)**

"Are you narrowing anything down?" JJ asked Spencer. It was nearly an hour after he had begun working on the map, and he was trying his hardest to figure out the comfort zone of the unsub.

"Sort of." Spencer mumbled in response. He continued to stare at the map.

JJ stood up from the chair she had been sitting on and stretched. "Kimberlee, where's the bathroom?"

"Go down the hall to the left, and it's the fifth door on the right. You can't miss it." Kimberlee replied.

JJ nodded and smiled, and she left the room in the direction of the bathroom. Spencer sighed, aware that he and Kimberlee were now together in the room alone. That was something he had been hoping would not happen.

Once JJ had left, Kimberlee stood up and walked closer to Spencer. She grabbed his elbow gently and pulled him away from the map. "I need to talk to you about something. It's important."

Spencer furrowed his brow, obviously confused. "Oh. Okay, what is it?"

Kimberlee search through a pile of files lying next to her, and when she found the one she was looking for, she held it out to Spencer to see. She placed her hand on her neck and seemed to be half-mindedly tracing the scar that led down it. "It's about Hollis."

Spencer winced. _Hollis_. She was the topic he had been hoping Kimberlee wouldn't bring up. He hated even thinking about her, because the slightest memory of her made his heart ache. Hollis was the true reason why Kimberlee and Spencer were so awkward around one another. After all, they hadn't seen each other since the night Hollis died.

Growing up, Kimberlee and Spencer wouldn't have even known of each other's existence under normal occurrences. Kimberlee was the spunky, free-minded artist, while Spencer was the quirky genius. Not to mention the fact that there was an eight year age difference between the two. However, Hollis was the connection between them. Hollis was Kimberlee's best friend, and she was also Spencer's sister.

_Sister._ Spencer shuddered. So many years had passed since Hollis' death that the fact that she had ever been his sister seemed surreal to him. Her life was almost like a dream that was fading more and more from him with every passing moment. Her death had been untimely, after all.

The April evening began normal as usual - Hollis was sitting on tree swing in the backyard of their Las Vegas home, reading a chapter out of _To Kill a Mockingbird_ aloud to Spencer. He had read the story a dozen times, but he enjoyed listening to Hollis' sing-song voice retelling the story to him once again. A car horn beeping from the street in front of the house drew Hollis and Spencer's attention away from the book. Hollis looked up to see Kimberlee waving from the driver's seat of her brand-new Buick that she had gotten for her 16th birthday. Hollis smiled and stood up from the swing. She ruffled Spencer's hair. "Don't worry 'Pence. We'll finish tomorrow." And with that, she bounded across the yard and jumped into the passenger seat of Kimberlee's car.

However, Hollis would never finish reading to Spencer. For in less than an hour, an unknown driver would run her and Kimberlee off of a quiet back road, ending her life and putting Kimberlee's in grave condition.

_Don't worry, 'Pence. We'll finish tomorrow._ Spencer avoided eye contact with Kimberlee and dropped the file on the table. "I-I would rather not open that. It was a long time ago."

"I know that, and it's been long enough." Kimberlee sighed. "Her killer is still out in the world somewhere, Spencer. It's not fair."

Spencer shook his head, still not meeting Kimberlee's eyes. "You're right, it isn't fair. But I think it's time to…to just forget about it. Let the past be the past."

Kimberlee stared at Spencer for a long moment before speaking again. "You don't agree with a word you just said. The Spencer Reid I knew years ago wouldn't let Hollis be forgotten. Not like this."

Spencer let out a sigh, defeated. "What do you want me to do?" He looked up at Kimberlee. His voice was very quiet, almost to a whisper. "It was a hit-and-run. Probably some drunk who decided to get behind the steering wheel of a car. Trust me, if I knew exactly what happened that night, I would find the man who did this and –" Spencer trailed off. He noticed that he had balled his fists up at his sides, and he quickly unclenched them.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Kimberlee replied. "I know that this is a very personal and delicate topic for you. Hell, it is for me, too. But I needed to bring it up because," She paused and stared into Spencer's eyes. "I think the man who ran Hollis and I off the road that night is a serial killer. And we weren't his last victims."

"What?" Spencer looked at Kimberlee, shocked. "What do you mean?"

Kimberlee grabbed the file off the table. "Here, look. Just recently I found a connection between our accident and others. There have been twenty-three similar hit-and-run accidents along the back road Hollis and I were driving on, starting in 1987. That's the year before Hollis and I were in our accident. All of the cars run off the road were red, each had two female passengers inside at the time of the crash, and in each accident they were hit in the late afternoon or early evening. C'mon Spencer. That has to be more than just a coincidence."

"So, you think that you two were targeted by a serial killer?" Spencer was still slowly processing all of the information in his mind. How had no one noticed this earlier?

Kimberlee nodded. "I wasn't positive, and I wanted another opinion. You and your team showed up just in time. Ironic, huh?" She ran a hand through her hair. "But there's more. If I'm right, and there is a serial killer on the loose, then he's more than likely still active. The last hit-and-run happened only five months ago."

Spencer stood, wide-eyed. Hollis was killed by a serial killer via vehicular manslaughter? He shook his head, taking all of the information in. There was a psychopath somewhere in Nevada who had not only taken his sister's life, but had also taken the lives of other innocent girls. Spencer felt angry blood rushing through his veins. He was going to find this son-of-a-bitch and –

"So, will you and your team help?" Kimberlee interrupted his thoughts.

Spencer looked up at Kimberlee. Would he help? Of course! Finally, he had a chance to avenge his sister's death. But as for the team…well, they didn't even know he had a sister, to begin with. As far as they knew, he was an only child. Hollis was a very sensitive subject for him – her very memory brought tears to his eyes. He would rather not reveal his deepest pain to everyone on the team, no matter how much they cared about him. There were some secrets that needed to be kept, well, secret.

"I'll get to the bottom of this. I mean, _we'll_ get to the bottom of this. But just you and me. My team can't find out about this, okay?" Spencer finally responded to Hollis. She gave him a small smile and pulled Spencer into a hug.

Before he could react, he heard the sound of a door opening behind him. He broke away from the hug to see Hotch standing behind him in the doorway. Hotch had both of his eyebrows raised, and his expression showed both intrigue and awkwardness.

_Dammit! _ Spencer thought, finally realizing how he must look to Hotch. He was standing in a room alone with Kimberlee, hugging her. Spencer's cheeks grew burning hot. Why did everyone have to think that he and Kimberlee were an item?

"I – uh, we were, uh – I was just—" Spencer stuttered. "We – we aren't dating!" He finally managed to say. JJ returned to the room at that exact moment, her facial expression becoming much like Hotch's.

"What's going on here?" She asked with a small smile.

"Ughh!" Spencer threw up his hands in frustration. First Hollis, now embarrassing himself in front of Hotch. How much more could he take in one day?

Spencer exited the room, flustered. Hotch called after him, obviously confused by everything that had just happened in the past few seconds. Hotch hurried after Spencer, and finally reached him in the hallway. He grabbed Spencer by the wrist and pulled him aside.

"Okay, Reid. What's going on? I enter the room to find you and Kimberlee hugging each other, then you scream out that you're not dating, and you run out of the room! I'm kind of worried here." Hotch spoke to the younger agent. Spencer tried not to look into Hotch's eyes. They were so damn wonderful. There had been so many times when all Spencer wanted to do was tell Hotch everything about Hollis and his pain, and to have Hotch hold him in his arms and console him. It was a lovely fantasy, but, sadly, it was only a dream.

Maybe he could tell Hotch about Hollis now – no, he couldn't. He had to do this on his own. For Hollis.

For his sister.

Spencer put on a fake small smile that was utterly unconvincing. "Sorry, Hotch. I've just been thinking too much about the maps, and I'm tired, and I haven't seen Kimberlee in so long…it's just all been rather hard to take in."

Hotch gave him an unconvinced look. "And how exactly does that explain you hugging Kimberlee in the room a few minutes ago?"

Spencer swallowed hard. "Uh…"

Hotch ran a hand over his face. He appeared confused. "Okay, never mind. Are you okay? Do you need to take a break?"

Spencer shook his head. "I'm fine."

Hotch eyed him over. "You would tell me if something were going on, right?"

Spencer dropped eye contact. How could he lie to Hotch? How could he lie to the man that he loved? Yes, he admitted it. He loved Hotch. _Aaron Hotchner, I'm in love with you!_ He mentally screamed to the man standing across from him. There were so many things crossing through his mind at the moment. _Just tell him, dammit! You obviously trust him. _He thought to himself. Finally, he sighed.

"Of course. But everything's fine." He managed to give Hotch a smile, which seemed to slightly convince his superior.

"All right. Let's get back to work then." Hotch finally said. Spencer let out a small sigh of relief. His heart was beating like crazy – he most certainly was in love. However, he felt another feeling, and it wasn't as light and airy as the love he felt for Hotch. It was the feeling of guilt.

How could he lie to Hotch? Why didn't he just open up and let Hotch help him? _He can help you avenge Hollis' death! _ Spencer sighed and shook the annoying voice out of his head. He needed to learn how to keep his emotions under control.

Spencer sat in his hotel room later on that evening after a (very) long day at work. He was dedicating his free time to working on Hollis' case. Suddenly, the details of the case all made sense. He had never looked over Hollis' case folder in the past – he was only a young boy at the time of her death, anyway. But now, it was blatantly obvious that she and Kimberlee had been the targets of a serial killer.

He was pulled away from his work by the sound of someone knocking – no, pounding rather – at his hotel door. He laid the folders he was looking through on the bedside table, and went to answer the door.

He couldn't help but let his jaw fall slightly open when he saw Hotch standing in his doorway. He looked very un-Hotchlike. He was wearing an old, gray T-shirt and a pair of blue sweatpants. He was obviously dressed in his pajamas, much to Spencer's delight. _Keep yourself under control, Reid_. He warned himself.

"Oh, uh, Hotch." Spencer swallowed hard. Hotch's muscles looked rather well-defined in that old T-shirt, and it was quite nice to see Hotch out of his suit and tie for once. Spencer cleared his throat. "Um…what's up?"

_Wow, stupid, way to start a conversation_. The voice in his head criticized him. However, it was interrupted by Hotch.

"I need to use your sink." Hotch's expression seemed harsher than usual, and Spencer realized that he was pissed off. He also became aware that Hotch was holding his toothbrush in his hand.

Spencer cocked his head to the side. Without thinking, he asked, "Why?"

Hotch let out an exasperated sigh. "Because my piece of shit sink won't turn on! Shitty hotel…"

Spencer couldn't help but smile. He found Hotch to be slightly amusing – and scary – whenever he was angry. At the same time, he found it extremely attractive. Then again, he thought everything Hotch did was attractive.

"Sure, come on in." Spencer stood away from the door, letting Hotch enter to use his bathroom. Hotch mumbled his gratitude, and hurried into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

A few moments later, he exited the bathroom. Spencer was standing a few feet away, his arms crossed in front of his chest, a small glimmer of a smile on his face.

"First thing tomorrow, I'm complaining to the manager." Hotch told him. He seemed serious (as always) but at the same time, there was a small smile shown within his expression.

"They should put nicer hotels in our budget." Spencer replied. He sat down on the edge of his bed, his glance never leaving Hotch. The glow of the bedside table lamp shone lightly on his face, highlighting his features that Spencer loved so much.

Hotch gave a small nod and smile of agreement. His glance flickered around the room, and landed on Hollis' case file. He picked it up. "What's this?"

Spencer nearly pounced at Hotch, and his snatched the folder from his grasp before he could see anything inside. He felt a cold sweat break out across his body. "It's, uh, nothing. It's just busy work and research. That's all."

Hotch had both of his eyebrows raised, and he appeared skeptical. "Really? You just took that file away from me as if your life depended on it."

Spencer gave a nervous shrug. "Oh. Sorry about that." _You're so lame!_ The voice in his head whispered to him.

Hotch crossed his arms. "You've been on edge since we got here. What's messing with your mind?"

Spencer swallowed hard. Why couldn't he just open up for once and tell Hotch what was going on? He loved the man, for crying out loud! "I've just been tired, is all. I'll be fine by morning." Spencer lied.

Hotch sighed softly and gave Spencer once last skeptical look. "Okay. Goodnight, Reid. Thanks for letting me use your bathroom."

Spencer gave Hotch a smile. "Goodnight, Hotch." And with that, Hotch left the hotel room.

Spencer turned off the beside lamp and lay down against his pillow. He soon fell sound asleep, fantasies of Hotch swirling around in his mind.

To Be Continued

A/N: Review please(: Hope you all like it. Sorry for the wait, my brother took my laptop on vacation with him for the week, thus I couldn't finish my chapter as soon as I would have liked to. Sorry!


	3. I Want to Phone a Friend

Near the Holly

Chapter Three

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: Thanks to all reviewers! :) Sorry for a bit of a wait. I hope you all like this next chapter! :) Review please – it makes my day!**

Spencer was completely engrossed in every slightest detail in Hollis' case file. He was determined to avenge his sister's death, no matter what the consequences might be. He was single-handedly forming a profile, and he had to admit that it was quite a challenge. He found himself tempted to reach out to other members of the team and ask for their help, but he convinced himself that he was better working the case alone. Honestly, he was scared that bringing up Hollis' death to the others would bring back too many painful memories from the past, and he would much rather keep those to himself.

Spencer stood up and stretched. It was the early morning, and he was still in his pajamas in his hotel room. Hotch – otherwise known to Spencer as "The Hottest Individual to Walk the Face of the Earth" – had told everyone on the team to arrive at work at approximately 7:00 the next morning so they could get to work. Spencer sighed and decided it was time to get ready so he wouldn't be late.

After showering, getting dressed, and eating an apple, Spencer realized that he had a few minutes to spare before he had to leave to go to the Las Vegas Police Department, and he decided to look over the case folder one last time. He was soon in his "own little world" once again, and did not look up from the folder until he heard his phone ring from the bedside table.

The noise made him jump, and he leaped for his phone. The caller ID showed that Morgan was the one calling him. "Hello?"

"Yo, Reid, where are you?" His friend spoke from the other end of the phone call. "It's 7:45, and we're all waiting on you. Is something wrong?"

Spencer looked at the digital clock next to him and his eyes grew large. _Dammit, dammit, dammit. Way to go, Spencer. _He mentally criticized himself.

"Oh crud." Spencer moaned. Morgan gave a small snicker. "I'll be there in, like, four minutes, okay? I, uh, I'm running late."

Before Morgan could make any smart-ass comments, Spencer hung up the phone. He let out a groan and hurried out of the room.

"Where've ya been, kid?" Morgan flashed Spencer a grin a few moments later. Spencer had just entered the LVPD, obviously frazzled.

"Sorry I'm late." He mumbled, looking up at Hotch, who stood across the room. He was wearing a frown and his arms were crossed. Spencer fidgeted with his tie nervously. _Great,_ He thought to himself. _You made him angry at you!_ His heart sped up. That was the absolute LAST emotion he wanted to cause Hotch to feel.

To his surprise, Hotch simply rolled his eyes. "Let's just get to work."

Spencer let out a deep breath. "Yes, Sir." He replied. Mentally, he added, "I love you Aaron!" to the end of his sentence. Sadly, though, it was only a fantasy.

Many slow hours passed by, and Spencer found little distraction in staring at maps and equations he had written out. He constantly found his mind swirling around thoughts of Hollis and the man who had taken her life. He had to stop him from taking any more lives! Spencer let out a sigh of frustration, which caused Hotch to look up from across the room and give a curious frown.

Hotch approached his colleague, but Spencer was too busy in his own thoughts to notice his presence. Hotch cleared his throat, and Spencer jumped slightly in surprise. A few papers flew out of his hands onto the ground.

"Sorry." Hotch mumbled and apology and bent over to pick up the papers.

"N-no. It was my fault." Spencer stuttered. Hotch held out the papers to Spencer, and upon seeing the equations and random phrases written on them, his face showed obvious confusion. He made a small shrug – mostly to himself – and handed the papers back to Spencer.

Spencer cleared his throat and attempted to explain his process to his superior. However, he found himself to be distracted in how close Hotch was standing to him, and soon he began to ramble on and on, flustered. Finally, Hotch held out a hand.

"Reid, enough! Please!" Hotch ran a hand through his hair. Spencer swallowed. He would give anything in the world just to run his hand through Hotch's hair as well. "Obviously, you've been hard at work. Sorry for interrupting."

Hotch turned to leave, when a sudden burst of courage ran though Spencer's body. _You can do this! _He thought to himself. _ Tell him about Hollis! He can help! _

"Hotch! I have to tell you something." Spencer called out. Hotch turned on his heel, an eyebrow raised. JJ, Emily, and Kimberlee all looked up at him from across the room. Spencer's stomach dropped, and his eyes grew large. Why the hell did he just say that?

Spencer had never felt so confused in his life. He loved Hotch – oh, he loved him so much! – but he couldn't even tell him about the pain of his past! All he wanted was to have Hotch share the love he felt towards him. Sadly, though, Spencer knew that his chances of ever finding love in Hotch were slim to none. He was stupid for even considering falling in love with Hotch. It was better if he just worked his problems out himself.

"Uh, never mind." Spencer's cheeks grew bright red. He could feel the three women across the room looking at him, obviously confused by what was going on.

Hotch seemed even more confused than all three of them combined. He sighed and looked at the clock hanging on the wall, which read 7:42 p.m. "Take a break, Reid. You seem overworked."

"Actually," JJ spoke up from across the room. "It's getting kind of late, Hotch. Why don't we all just go out for supper? It's been a rather busy day. I'm sure we could all use a break."

Emily quickly agreed and turned to Kimberlee. "You gunna come?"

Kimberlee waved her off. "No, go on without me. I want to get home before it's too late so I can see my husband and sons."

Hotch hesitated. Finally, he gave in. "Alright. Morgan and Rossi are on their way back from the coroner's office now. When they get back, we can all call it a day and head out for supper."

Nearly forty five minutes later, the six BAU agents sat around a table at TGI Friday's. The mood was generally light and happy, and the team members had managed to leave their work back at the office. Spencer was seated across from Hotch, and it took all the strength in his body not to stare at his superior's gorgeous face.

The waitress – Kelly – returned to their table with a refill of Diet Pepsi for Morgan and Sprite for Rossi. She was a pretty, young woman, and Morgan was busy making every possible effort to gain her attention. Everyone at the table was rolling their eyes at him and smiling – including Kelly.

"You are such a flirt!" Emily hissed across the table to Morgan. Her comment earned laughs from JJ, Rossi, and Spencer, and even a snicker from Hotch. Spencer felt his heart swell. _Why can't Hotch smile more often? He's so adorable when he smiles…_

Kelly smiled as well, but her cheeks turned a soft pink. Morgan smiled at Emily's joke and shrugged. He turned his attention back to Kelly. "What can I say? Pretty girls like you don't come into my life too often."

JJ snorted, and Emily nearly choked on her water from laughing. "What about us, Derek?" She raised an eyebrow, playfully. Everyone at the table laughed once again, including Morgan.

"Your food should be ready shortly, guys." Kelly spoke up. She flashed Morgan a small smile and a wink, which caused all of his friends to instantly tease him.

Spencer sighed softly. Morgan seemed to make dating and flirting and relationships so simple. If only he had that kind of luck. If only Hotch would share the same feelings that he felt for him. He found himself once again admiring Hotch's face. Everything about him was beautiful. He wished he could just reach up and touch the back of his neck, pulling him in close so that he could –

_Stop it, Reid_. He warned himself. It was wrong to feel the way he did for Hotch. He would never share the same feelings that Spencer felt for him, and the idea of love was simply out of the question. He sighed once more. He knew falling in love with Hotch was wrong. Oh, it was horribly wrong. But it just felt so right!

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing, and he excused himself from the table. JJ, Emily, and Morgan all shared a curious look.

"Is Reid okay?" Emily asked, to no one in particular.

Hotch shrugged. "I think he's just overwhelmed to be back in Las Vegas." He replied. "And seeing Kimberlee obviously isn't helping any."

"Oh yeah, _Kimberlee_." Morgan smiled, and his eyes lit up with gossip. "Reid's little girl friend."

Emily playfully kicked Morgan from under the table. "Oh, shut up and leave Reid alone. Who are you to talk, anyway? You've spent the past half hour flirting with poor Kelly!"

Morgan rolled his eyes while everyone else at the table laughed, and Emily's comment had been enough to stop his gossip about Spencer and Kimberlee.

Meanwhile, Spencer stood outside in the lobby talking on the phone with Kimberlee.

"Sorry to interrupt your meal, Spencer." She spoke from the other end of the phone call.

"It's fine. We weren't served yet. What's up?" Spencer replied.

"Well, I meant to ask you earlier, but I didn't get a chance." Kimberlee went on. "Have you looked over Hollis' case file yet?"

Spencer paused at Hollis' name. "Yeah, I did. I'm following up on some leads. Actually, I might call our technical analyst Garcia to help me with them."

"But I thought you said you didn't want any help from the team." Kimberlee said her sentence more like a question than a statement.

Spencer sighed. "I don't. But if Garcia can help us find out who murdered Hollis and who tried to murder you as well, then it's obviously worth it."

"Oh. Alright. Well, I'll let you go now. I was just checking on your progress." KImberlee replied.

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Spencer."

Spencer hung up his phone and headed back to his table. When he returned, Morgan pointed to his phone. "Who called you?"

"Kimberlee." Spencer replied, sliding back into his chair.

Morgan, JJ and Emily shared a sly smile. Spencer frowned, sensing that something was going on between them that he was unaware of.

"Oh, really?" Morgan asked. "Well, isn't that a surprise?"

Spencer didn't catch onto the sarcasm in Morgan's voice, and he gave him a puzzled look. "Uh…I guess?" He shrugged, and, before Morgan could continue, Kelly returned with their food, and his full attention once again became focused on the attractive waitress.

Spencer couldn't believe that his dreams were coming true. Finally, after all of this time, his wishes were being granted.

He was sharing a hotel room with Aaron Hotchner.

It had all started moments before, when Hotch came and knocked on Spencer's hotel door. He was just as pissed off as he had been the night before. Apparently, he had complained about his sink not working, and the hotel management had hired a plumber to fix it. The only problem was that the plumber was currently ripping out the entire bathroom wall in Hotch's room, and it was a job that would take at least two days.

So, Hotch was camping out with Spencer.

He had gathered quite a few blankets and spread them out on the floor next to Spencer's bed. Spencer tried to convince Hotch that he could have the bed and Spencer would sleep on the floor, but Hotch brushed him off.

Spencer sighed. "Really, I don't mind the floor. You can sleep in the bed, Hotch."

Hotch gave a small smirk. "Jeez, Reid. Sleeping on the floor is not that big of a deal. I'll be fine. It's not a life or death situation."

"I know that." Spencer muttered, his cheeks slightly blushing.

Hotch went on. "Jack used to have nightmares, and he couldn't fall asleep unless I was laying in his room with him, so I'd sleep on the floor. I'm used to it by now."

Spencer was rather surprised at Hotch's willingness to talk about his personal life. Basically everyone who had ever met Hotch knew he was a private person, and Spencer's heart glowed every time he learned something new about the man who he loved. Spencer couldn't help but smile at the fact that Hotch trusted him enough to talk about his personal life with such ease.

Spencer's breath caught in his throat. Hotch trusted him, but he didn't trust Hotch enough to tell him about Hollis.

He shook the thoughts out of his head and continued to prepare for bed. He and Hotch didn't talk much – even though Spencer wanted to tell him so much – and finally they both laid down to sleep.

"Goodnight, Hotch." Spencer chimed.

"Night, Reid." Hotch replied. Spencer could have sworn he saw a smile on the other man's face in the darkness. No – it was most likely just his imagination.

Spencer's alarm woke him the next morning. He yawned and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. As he became aware of surroundings, he remembered the events of the past night. He looked down to wear Hotch had been sleeping next to his bed, but there was no one there. The blankets were gone – as was Hotch – and Spencer couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. Hotch had returned to his own room to get ready for the day.

Spencer rolled out of bed, his gaze landing on Hollis' case folder. He sighed and picked it up, his conversation the previous night with Kimberlee swirling in his mind. Seconds later, he was on the phone with Garcia.

"Ah! I was thinking you all forgot about me." He heard the familiar peppy voice of Garcia through the other end of the phone call.

Spencer smiled. "How could I forget about you, Garcia? I actually need a favor."

"Anything for you, my love."

"I'm going to send you some details on a case later today, but I really need you to narrow a suspect list down for me. Can you do that?" Spencer asked.

"I can do anything, Spencer Reid. I would have thought you knew that by now!" Garcia smiled. "And I already have the details of the case you guys are working on."

Spencer hesitated. "Yeah, uh, about that. The case I want you to work on isn't actually the one the team is working on. It's kind of a solo investigation."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Oh." Garcia finally spoke. "Okay. Is everything alright, Reid?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine." Spencer ran a hand through his hair. "I'm just working an old case for…a friend. Nothing major." He lied. "Oh, and Garcia?"

"Yes, love?"

"Can you keep this a secret from the rest of the team?" Spencer swallowed hard. He knew Garcia was not the best at keeping secrets, especially from Morgan.

"Woah, woah, woah. Spencer, would you like to tell me what is going on here?" Garcia sounded worried.

"Everything's fine. Trust me, Garcia. I just need you to help me catch a killer on the loose, and I'd really appreciate it if you kept it just between you and me." Spencer replied.

Garcia sighed, and finally replied. "Okay."

"I owe you, Garcia. Big time." Spencer breathed a sigh of relief.

Garcia smiled. "You've got that right, my dear."

To Be Continued

**A/N: Sorry for a wait! But I hope you all like it! Review please! (:**


	4. I Want to Be Left Alone

Near the Holly

Chapter Four

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, added this story to your favorites, added me as a favorite author, and who alerted this story! It means so much! :) Enjoy this chapter!**

After talking with Garcia, Spencer felt slightly relieved. At least he was no longer working alone on Hollis' case. If only he had enough courage to tell Hotch about everything…

Spencer somehow managed to shake Hollis out of his mind and headed to work. Things were slow to start out, considering that Spencer was simply working out equations about the map. Obviously, there wasn't much to work with until another body showed up, and everyone was sitting around the LVPD, waiting for the call that the killer had struck again.

About 10:30, Kimberlee approached Spencer. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Spencer. Can I, um, speak with you in private?" Kimberlee looked behind her at Morgan, Emily, and JJ, who were looking back at her with curiosity.

Spencer laid his expo marker on the desk next to him. "Sure." He looked over at his colleagues at well. "Is there any place where we can speak and not be heard?"

Kimberlee gave a small smile and led him out of the room by the arm. Neither she nor Spencer realized that the simple gesture appeared as though they were holding hands.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Morgan turned to JJ and Emily. His eyes were nearly as bright as his smile. "Woah! Did you see that?"

JJ rolled her eyes. "See what, exactly?"

Morgan sighed. "Oh, c'mon. It's so obvious!"

JJ and Emily shared a glance before Emily spoke. "What's obvious?"

"Oh, don't play dumb!" Morgan exclaimed. "There's something going on between those two."

A smile crept across Emily's face. "So, you've noticed it, too?"

"Emily!" JJ cried, surprised that her friend was encouraging Morgan's gossip session.

"What?" Emily smiled largely. "It's so obvious! They're probably making dinner plans as we speak!"

"Or, they could be doing something much more physical." A twinkle was in Morgan's eyes as he spoke.

JJ scrunched her nose. "Okay, I am now scarred for life because of that mental image." She smiled softly. "But…it is pretty obvious that they're into each other, isn't it?"

"Ha! See, we all noticed it!" Emily threw up her hands. "It's sorta cute, isn't it? It's about time Reid got a girlfriend, and Kimberlee seems nice enough."

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold on!" JJ said. "She's married!"

"People have affairs all of the time!" Morgan pointed out.

JJ stared at him for a long moment. "…Okay, I hope you weren't being serious…"

Just then, Spencer reentered the room. Kimberlee wasn't with him, and Emily, JJ, and Morgan all shared a look. If they were going to get answers, now was the perfect time to do it.

Spencer looked up to see all three of the BAU agents staring at him. "What?" He asked cautiously.

"What was that talk with Kimberlee about, Reid?" Morgan raised an eyebrow.

Spencer swallowed hard. _He knows about Hollis. You shouldn't have trusted Garcia! She can't keep a secret to save her life, stupid._ The voice in Spencer' s head mocked him, and he felt his face blushing. Did Morgan really know about Hollis?

"Um, nothing really. It was work-related." Spencer lied.

Morgan smiled. "Oh, really? So, why did you two have to go across the hall in a deserted room just to talk about work?"

Spencer swallowed hard. Morgan did have a point. "Uh, we, uh, I thought, uh…"

"So, it's true then? You and Kimberlee are an item?" Emily spoke up. Suddenly, Spencer realized that this wasn't about Hollis at all, but rather about Kimberlee.

"W-what?" Spencer staggered backwards, backing into the table. "What are you talking about? She's married!"

"Wait! I think I know what's going on here!" Morgan's eyes grew large. "You like her, but you can't have her! That's why you've been acting so out-of-it lately!"

"W-w-what?" Spencer stammered. "I don't like her!"

"I know you don't like her, Reid." Morgan smiled down at Spencer. "You _love_ her."

Spencer felt a ringing in his ears. How wrong could Morgan possibly get? He was not in love with Kimberlee Sota! She was hardly a friend! They hadn't seen each other in years, and their only connection was his dead sister. Why wouldn't anyone believe him? Spencer was so distracted that he didn't hear Hotch enter the room from behind him.

"I'm not in love with her! I barely know her!" He nearly screamed. He turned around to leave the room, and he nearly collided with Hotch.

Hotch had an eyebrow raised, and he appeared obviously confused. He looked at Spencer, and there was some emotion in his eyes that Spencer couldn't quite read. Spencer felt his cheeks turning bright red. _Way to go, genius._ He scolded himself. Why did he always have to make a fool of himself in front of Hotch?

Finally, Hotch spoke up. "As fun as it is to mess with Reid, why don't we all get back to work?" Morgan, Emily and JJ all mumbled their responses and headed back to their desks. Spencer gave a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he felt Hotch's hand on his shoulder.

"Are they giving you a hard time?" Hotch seemed genuinely concerned, and Spencer was rather surprised. At the same time, he could feel his heart melting.

"No, Sir. They're just messing with me." Spencer replied softly.

Hotch took his hand off of Spencer shoulder, and Spencer couldn't help but miss his touch. "Please tell me if they bring up Kimberlee again, okay? I don't want them bothering you too much."

Spencer couldn't help but smile at Hotch's compassion. "I will, Hotch. Thanks."

Hotch nodded, and left Spencer to do his work. Spencer sighed softly. He may not have been in love with Kimberlee, but he sure as hell was in love with Aaron Hotchner.

It was nearly two o' clock that afternoon when the call came into the LVPD that another body had turned up. Hotch went with Morgan and Kimberlee to evaluate the crime scene, and Rossi and Emily went to look at the body. JJ was attempting to contact the media to set up a press conference for later that day, and Spencer was left to continue analyzing the maps. The new location data did help, but before he could get very far in his work, Garcia called him.

"Hello?" He said into the phone.

"Tell me how much you love me." Garcia demanded from the other end of the phone.

Spencer smiled. "I love you more than anything in the world. Even coffee." _But not Hotch. _He added silently to himself. "I'm guessing you've narrowed down suspects from the case file I sent you earlier?"

"You guessed correctly, my young genius." Garcia chimed. "I've found five men in the Las Vegas area who look as though they could be your serial killer. All of them have previous records, they are all freakishly obsessive when it comes to cars, they all were in close proximity of the various murders on the nights they happened, and they all appear as though they have it in them to be serial killers. So, I hope this helps."

Spencer's heart leaped. Only five suspects! He'd look the list over, and hopefully he would be able to find Hollis' killer and end the mystery once and for all.

"Garcia, you have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you so much. Can you send the list of names to me?" Spencer replied.

"Already sent, darling." Garcia hesitated. "But, uh, Spencer, I was wondering…how are you involved in this case exactly?"

Spencer's blood seemed to go cold. "I-I told you. I'm helping out a friend."

Garcia cleared her throat. "I want to believe you, I really do, but the problem is that when I was looking the details of the case over, I saw that one of the victims has your last name."

Spencer was silent, unsure of what to say. Garcia continued. "Hollis Carmen Reid. She was only sixteen when the killer ran her off the road in 1988. And the driver of the car was Kimberlee Sota. Isn't that the detective leading the case you all are working on?" Garcia paused. "Spencer, what's going on here? Was Hollis your cousin or something?"

Spencer swallowed hard. "Thanks for your help, Garcia. I really appreciate it. But I'd rather you not dig any further into this case. I don't like you delving around in my personal life, to be honest! So, thank you, and good bye." Spencer slammed the phone shut and ran his hands through his hair. It was only a matter of time before Garcia figured out that he had a sister. And then the team would find out and they would all wonder why he couldn't trust them with the fact that his sister was murdered. He took a deep breath. _Pull it together, Reid_, He told himself.

He _did_ trust the team. Honestly, he wasn't even sure why he didn't want to tell them about Hollis. Maybe it was because he didn't want to admit, even after all this time, that his sister was dead. Maybe it was because it still hurt him to bring up the memory of the sister who he had loved and admired so much. Maybe it was because he was afraid he'd get hurt if he shared too many of his secrets with others, even if they were his friends. Honestly, he didn't even know.

Spencer looked up from his work nearly an hour later to see Hotch walk into the room where he was working. The older man wore his normal, blank expression, and Spencer sighed softly. He wished Hotch would at least _acknowledge_ him…

It was as though Hotch read his mind, because he turned on his heel and looked over at Spencer. "Reid, how are those maps coming along?"

"Pretty well. I've narrowed the killer's home to be within a seven mile radius." Spencer replied.

Hotch seemed pleasantly impressed. "Wow. Good work. I'll call Garcia and see if she can find anyone to match our killer's profile within that radius."

Spencer flinched slightly at the mention of Garcia's name; the events that happened earlier that day involving her were still fresh in his mind. Hotch noticed Spencer's reaction, and he frowned.

_Great. Now he thinks something's wrong with you! _Spencer mentally scolded himself.

"Is everything okay, Spencer?" Hotch's voice was soft, and he surprised Spencer by calling him by his first name.

Spencer broke eye contact, unable to look into Hotch's eyes any longer. They were too gorgeous…

"It's just…." Spencer trailed off. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Really."

Hotch reached out and tilted Spencer's chin so that he was looking up at him. Spencer's heart skipped a beat at Hotch's touch, and then gained three times its normal speed when Hotch didn't bother to move his hand.

Spencer swallowed hard. Was this really happening? Hotch was standing in a room with Spencer – alone, he might add – with his hand just underneath his chin. All Spencer could think of was how perfect Hotch's lips were.

"You're more than just a coworker. You're a friend. And I want to help you with whatever is on your mind." Hotch went on.

Spencer's mouth almost flew open. Hotch was actually having a personal, loving conversation with him! Why was Hotch keeping his hand on his face for so long? Not like he minded it, or anything…

He looked up into Hotch's eyes and took in everything about the moment. It was beautiful. Damn, could Hotch not feel the sparks between them? Did Hotch want to kiss him just as much as he wanted to kiss Hotch? Spencer shook the thoughts out of his mind. Hotch would never like him 'like that'. Hotch had just said it himself – Spencer was just a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

Spencer somehow managed to look up at Hotch and give him a small smile. "I'm fine, Hotch. Thanks for checking up on me, though. I appreciate it."

Hotch gave Spencer one final look before giving in. He patted Spencer on the shoulder and smiled back at him before walking away. Spencer let out his breath and shook his head slowly to himself. Why did Aaron Hotchner have to be so damn attractive?

To Be Continued

**A/N: Hope you liked it! (: Review please! Next chapter should get interesting – there's some Hotch/Spencer bonding time! Haha(: **


	5. I Want to Find Micah

Near the Holly

Chapter Five

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: I'm really pleased at how well this story is being received by those who are reading it! (: Thanks to everyone for all of the reviews! They make my day! (: I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It might be a little bit shorter than usual. Sorry! But there is some Hotch/Spencer bonding time, just as I promised. (: Thanks for reading!**

Spencer watched as JJ spoke into dozens of microphones as cameras later on that day. She was delivering the profile that the team had concluded to the media, and Spencer couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed. He had been working so ferociously on Hollis' murder case that he truly hadn't worked very hard on the team's case. Basically, the only part of the case he had overlooked was his maps, and he hadn't helped much in delivering the profile. He sighed. Well, it was too late to fix anything now, and he could only hope that no one on the team had noticed his lack of contribution.

As the press conference concluded, the team (minus Hotch and Rossi, who were on their way back from the coroner's office) headed back inside the LVPD to tie up any loose ends for the day. It began to rain, and the team hurried inside as to not get drenched.

Kimberlee stood at the head of the table in the work room, and she began to speak. "Do you really believe that our killer was watching that press conference?"

Emily nodded. "Most likely. And if he was, we probably shook him up quite a bit. He's probably nervous because of the fact that we're so close to catching him."

Kimberlee nodded, and she coughed a few times. They were deep, sickly sounding coughs, and Spencer flinched. He knew that after The Accident, one of the main health problems that Kimberlee suffered was a collapsed lung. Hearing her cough reminded him how close to death she had come, and chills went down his back.

JJ looked up from the paper she was reading over. "You okay?"

Kimberlee nodded. "I'm fine. I've had bad lungs since I was a teenager." Spencer frowned and cleared his throat. He could feel Morgan looking at him. "It's the rainy weather that does it." She coughed another time. "Excuse me." And with that, she left the room to get a bottle of water.

A few seconds passed, and Spencer wasn't sure why, but he felt as though he needed to follow Kimberlee. He had forgotten that she had been affected so greatly by the accident. She may have not died with Hollis, but she came quite close to death that night.

"I'm, uh, going to the bathroom." Spencer spoke up, and he headed toward the door. Before he could leave the room, Morgan spoke up.

"Oh, really?"

Spencer swallowed hard. _Dammit, Morgan! _He thought to himself. _Why are you always in my business?_ "Uh, yeah. Why?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not just following Kimberlee?"

Spencer's face turned a dark red. All he was doing was checking up on a friend. It wasn't as though they were planning their wedding!

Finally, Emily chimed in. "Oh, shut up, Derek! All he wants to do is go to the bathroom!"

Spencer scurried out of the room before any more comments were made, and went to find Kimberlee. He found her across the hall in an empty room, drinking from a water bottle. There was a prescription bottle of pills sitting on the table, and Spencer concluded that they were for her lungs.

Kimberlee smiled softly – yet sadly – at him. "It's been twenty-three years, and I still have to take three of these damn pills every time the weather changes."

"After all this time, not much has changed, has it?" Spencer asked a rhetorical question.

Kimberlee sighed. "People say time heals everything." She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, revealing the top of a scar that traveled down her chest. It appeared to be silver in color, just like the scar that traveled down her neck, but this scar was wider and thicker. "Well, tell that to my scars."

At that moment, Morgan walked into the room. His mouth fell open, and his eyes seemed to be bulging out of his face. Spencer wasn't quite sure why at first, but then he suddenly realized what Morgan must have thought he and Kimberlee were doing. They were standing alone in a room, only a few inches away from each other, and the top buttons of her shirt were undone. Obviously, Spencer was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

Morgan's eyes began to twinkle, as though he were a kid on Christmas morning. "I knew you two had something secret going on."

Spencer shook his head in a violent motion. "NO! Derek, you've got it all wrong!"

Kimberlee seemed taken aback at Morgan's accusing statement, and she backed up Spencer. "Spencer and I are certainly not 'sneaking around'." Kimberlee crossed her arms in front of her. "I happen to be happily married, Agent Morgan, I plan to stay that way." She brushed past Morgan and left the room, obviously frazzled.

Spencer felt anger bubbling up inside of him. Morgan had been pressing on his last nerve since they had arrived in Las Vegas, and he was sick of it. Why wouldn't everyone just leave him alone! The only person who he wanted a relationship with was Aaron, and he couldn't even have him. Before Morgan could make one more intrusive question, Spencer stormed out of the room.

Spencer couldn't help but feel better once the day was over and he was back in the familiar hotel room. After all, Hotch was once again spending the night. Spencer wasn't quite sure why, considering that he was pretty sure the plumber in Hotch's room was gone, but he certainly didn't complain. He couldn't have been happier, to be honest.

As Hotch laid down on the floor for the second night in the row, Spencer spoke up. "Are you _sure_ you don't want me to sleep down there?"

Hotch chuckled – yes, he actually **chuckled** – and flashed Spencer a smile. Spencer somehow managed not to faint.

"Seriously, Spencer, I'm fine down here." He replied. Spencer smiled to himself. He could get used to Hotch calling him Spencer more often.

Hotch went on. "I grew up basically sleeping on the floor in my brother's room. I liked 'camping out' with him. Having separate rooms wasn't much fun."

Spencer propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at Hotch. His form was difficult to make out in the low light. "I wish I had had a brother."

Hotch nodded. "Having a brother made growing up a whole lot easier on me. I wasn't so lonely."

"I was lonely a lot." Spencer admitted. He was rather pleasantly surprised at how well he and Hotch were able to share their feelings. He had never noticed that before because, well, they had never really had a heart-to-heart before now.

"Well, you didn't have a brother." Hotch concluded. Spencer sighed. _I hardly had a sister, either._ He thought to himself. He quickly shook Hollis out of his mind. Now wasn't the time.

Before Spencer could stop himself, the first random thought that popped into his mind was flying out of his mouth. "You miss Jack, don't you?" A chill went down Spencer's back. Oh. Shit. _Everyone_, even the freaking president of the United States of America, knew that Hotch hated talking about his personal life. It was his most sensitive subject, after all. However, to Spencer's surprise, Hotch answered the question truthfully with hardly any hesitation.

"Yeah, I do. All the time." He sighed. "I wish I didn't have to leave him, but I do. Sometimes…" He trailed off for a moment before going on. "Sometimes, I feel like I fail as a parent."

Spencer looked down at Hotch's frame, and felt his heart aching for him. "You did _not_ fail as a parent. Trust me." Hell, if anyone was a shitty father, it was William Reid, not Aaron Hotchner. "I would have been honored to have a dad like you, Hotch." _I would be more honored to have you as a lover, though…_ Spencer added silently.

Spencer wasn't quite positive, but he was almost positive that Hotch gave him a small smile in the dark. "That actually does mean a lot to me, Spencer. Thanks." After a short pause, Hotch went on. "I trust you with my life. You know that, right?"

Spencer nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"Good." Hotch laid down into his pillow. "Remember that."

Spencer felt an urge welling up inside of him. In that moment, he simply knew that this was the time to tell Hotch all that he had been hiding about his past. Now was the time to tell him about Hollis.

After all, he trusted him with his life.

And he loved him with twice as much.

"Hotch, I need to tell you something. I've wanted to tell you for a while and it was stupid of me not to tell you earlier."

Before Spencer could go on, his cell phone rang on the nightstand next to him. A picture of Garcia was on the screen. He picked up the phone, slightly aggravated that he had been interrupted.

"Hello?"

"I am amazing and wonderful and absolutely tired, so I'm going to make this phone call very quick." Garcia chimed from the other end of the phone. "The unsub in your unsolved murder case is Micah Rooney. He is from local Nevada, and I'm sending you the address to your phone right now."

Spencer felt lightheaded. Was this really happening? Was he finally going to find the man who murdered his sister? "I love you, Penelope." Spencer finally spoke into the phone. He hung up, leaving Garcia slightly speechless.

"What's going on?" Hotch asked, obviously confused.

Spencer grabbed his car keys from the nightstand and grabbed his coat. "Hurry up and put on some pants. I'll explain on the way."

A very short while later, Spencer was driving his car – with Hotch in the passenger seat – down a dark road. He was sure he was speeding, but he couldn't care in the slightest. It was about time someone captured Micah Rooney and made him pay for the nightmares he had caused.

"Okay, Spencer, slow down and tell me where the hell we're going!" Hotch's voice had hints of anxiety in it.

Spencer gripped the steering wheel. It was time he told Hotch the truth. "We're going to catch the son of a bitch who killed Hollis."

Hotch's brow furrowed, and he was obviously confused. "Huh?"

And so Spencer told Hotch everything. As he spoke, he could feel a burden being forever lifted off of his chest. Finally, he had managed to trust someone enough to tell them about Hollis! At the same time, though, he felt another feeling burning inside of him. How was Hotch going to react?

As he finished his story, he glanced over at Hotch. He expected him to be angry for not telling him sooner, or to be confused at why Spencer kept his past a secret. But instead, his face showed understanding and another emotion Spencer couldn't quite read. Was Hotch…hurt?

Hotch sat back in his seat, processing everything that he had just been told. Finally, he spoke up. "Are-Are you sure this is the unsub?"

"Positive." Spencer stepped on the gas harder, and sped off down the road.

"Micah Rooney, this is the FBI! Open the door!" Hotch called. He and Spencer had reached Rooney's small Nevada home, and Spencer was nearly having an anxiety attack. He had dreamed of the day he would capture Rooney nearly his entire life.

The seconds seemed like hours, and after what seemed like an eternity, Hotch kicked in the door to the home. Spencer couldn't help but feel his heart flutter slightly. He really was in love with Aaron Hotchner, and there was no denying it.

The inside of Rooney's home was revealed, and Spencer frowned. It was surprisingly normal, unlike the cage of torture he had imagined for years. Hotch signaled for him to go upstairs, and that he would cover the ground floor, and Spencer nodded.

He climbed up the padded staircase, careful not to make a sound. He reached the top of the staircase, and followed the hallway in front of him. He opened the first door, revealing a bedroom. There was no one inside, and he went to turn around. Before he could turn and leave the room, however, he felt something hard and strong hit into the back of his head. He let out a whimper and fell to his knees. He struggled to not lose consciousness, but his efforts were pointless. Everything went dark.

To Be Continued

A/N: Hope you all like the cliffie(: I know, I know, I take forever to post chapters. SORRY! Thanks for all reviews!(:


	6. I Want to Get Out of Here Alive

Near the Holly

Chapter 6

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: Sorry to everyone who had to wait so long for this chapter! I take so long to post chapters, and I apologize. But here's the conclusion to the cliffie of the last chapter! Thanks for all reviews, and keep 'em coming! :)**

Spencer let out s soft moan. There was a harsh pounding in the back of his head, and it was causing his entire body to feel sore. He felt as though he was in a daze, and he struggled to open his eyes and remember what the hell had happened to him.

His eyes slowly peeled open, and his vision was blurred and fuzzy. As his eyes adjusted to the low lighting, he realized that he was in an unfamiliar basement. He thought back to how he had ended up here, and, piece by painful piece, the events that occurred in Micah Rooney's home came flooding back. Even thinking about them made his headache worsen.

Suddenly, a thought jumped into his mind. _Hotch_. Spencer felt his heart beat quicken. Had Hotch managed to escape and get help, or had he been captured as well? Or…worse?

Spencer's train of thought was interrupted by a low voice calling out from beside him. "Reid?"

Spencer turned his head to the sound of the voice, and let his still groggy vision adjust to the person sitting next to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that the man next to him was Hotch, but immediately became worried again when he became aware of the fact that they were _both_ trapped.

Spencer tried to move, but he felt the tug of rope against his hands. He frowned. His arms were tied up to the wall behind him, as were Hotch's. He looked back at Hotch. "Where are we?"

Hotch seemed extremely relieved that Spencer was okay and no longer knocked out, and he sighed before answering Spencer's question. "We're under Rooney's house, in the basement. After he knocked you out, he held me at gunpoint and tied us both up down here." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do. He would have killed us both if I tried to attack him."

Spencer's eyes widened. "This is not your fault, Hotch! I shouldn't have gotten you involved in my mess." His gaze dropped from Hotch's eyes. "I'm sorry."

Hotch leaned over and nudged Spencer's shoulder (as best as he could with his hands tied behind his back to the wall behind him). Spencer felt shivers go down his spine at Hotch's kind gesture, and he couldn't help but feel slightly giddy, despite the circumstances. _Stop it, Reid. Focus on getting out of this mess, not Hotch's face!_ He scolded himself.

"We've been down here for about an hour. I don't know where the hell Rooney went. He said he wanted you to wake up so you didn't 'miss the show'." Hotch frowned. Spencer bit his lip in anxiety. There was no way he was going to let Rooney kill him or Hotch. He had already killed Hollis.

It was no longer than twenty minutes later when Rooney's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. He flicked on the light switch when he reached the last step, flooding the dark room with light. Spencer squinted, and, as his eyes adjusted to the newly lit room, he inhaled sharply.

Micah Rooney, the man who had killed his sister, was standing less than ten feet away from him.

He was a lanky man – at least six feet tall – with skin as pale as egg shells. He smiled down at Hotch and Spencer with a row of teeth so perfectly straight they belonged in an ad for dentistry. His hair was strawberry blond and thinning, and his eyes were a color so dark that they appeared to be completely black. Looking at him made Spencer sick, yet he didn't dare turn away.

"Well, well, well." Rooney continued to grin down at Spencer and Hotch. "I see that I have visitors!"

He took a few steps closer to Hotch and Spencer, and he crouched down so that he was at eye-level with Spencer. "Don't you know that it's not polite to intrude into a home that isn't yours? Haven't you got any manners?" Rooney _tsk_-ed at the two agents, and he moved his gaze over to Hotch. "And, I don't even know your names!"

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out two wallets. Spencer recognized the one as his own, and figured that other must have belonged to Hotch. Rooney opened Hotch's first, and pulled out his FBI photo I.D. He smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Aaron Hotchner, FBI. Hmm, interesting."

He put the I.D. back in the wallet, and then reached into Spencer's wallet. "Oh, well would you look at that! Another FBI agent! It is my _pleasure_ to have you two providers of justice in my humble abode." Rooney bowed in front of Hotch and Spencer, his entire presentation dripping with sarcasm.

Rooney straightened himself up again, so that he towered over Hotch and Spencer. "Reid, Reid…why does that last name sound so familiar?" He peered down at Spencer.

Spencer found himself unable to hold his anger inside any longer, and he replied to Rooney's question. "You killed my sister, you son of a bitch!"

Hotch glanced over at the younger agent. "Spencer, calm down. It's not worth it." He mumbled. However, it was too late, and Rooney was already growing amused and intrigued.

"Your sister?" Rooney's smile returned, brighter than ever. He thought for a long moment, and after pondering for a while, his eyes lit up. "Oh! Of course! What was her name? Something that started with an H, I believe. Heather? No, no…oh! Holly! That's right! Holly Reid!"

Spencer gritted his teeth. "It's HOLLIS, not HOLLY. You killed her, and you can't even recall her name!" He balled his hands into fists.

"Calm down, Feisty!" Rooney patted Spencer's head playfully. "A little patience goes a long way! You could learn from your friend." He gestured over at Hotch. "Now let's see. Hollis Reid. I believe she was in 1988…? I long time ago. But she was the artist, wasn't she? The very smart and pretty girl. Brown hair like wet sand on the beach, and brown eyes exactly like yours." Rooney closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "She was a beauty." Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open again. "But, it was her time. She was…_too perfect_."

"Whoever gave you the power to decide when it is the 'time' for women to die? You're a delusional monster!" Spencer spat. Hotch muttered something along the lines of 'don't make him angry'.

Rooney raised an eyebrow. "Ouch. Words hurt, Spencer. Just like how I hurt your sister."

Spencer could almost feel rage pumping through his veins. He didn't think he had ever been this mad in all of his life; Marcus Rooney was standing directly in front of him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"But your sister wasn't nearly as special to me as Kimmie was." Rooney walked over to a table across the room. He sifted through a few objects before picking up a few pictures. He looked down at them and smiled slightly. "Ah, she was something special indeed. She was the only girl who was strong enough to survive, after all that I did to her."

Spencer grit his teeth. Marcus walked back over to him and held one of the pictures in front of his face. Spencer looked closely and felt a shiver travel down his spine. The picture was of Kimberlee. It had been taken years prior, most likely gotten off of the internet after her near-death. The picture was worn out because it was picked up and touched often, and Spencer realized that Rooney had collected pictures of Kimberlee over the years as a reminder that she was 'different' from the other girls he had killed.

Rooney smirked at Spencer's reaction and placed the pictures in his back jeans pocket. "Kimberlee is twice the woman your sister would have been." He mocked. "But I suppose we'll never know for sure now."

Spencer let anger overcome him, and he kicked Rooney in the shin. It wasn't a very hard blow, considering that Spencer was tied to a wall, but it was enough to piss Rooney off. He punched Spencer in the gut, causing him to lose his breath. Before Spencer could even react to the first punch, Rooney's fist was already colliding with his jaw.

"STOP IT!" Hotch barked at Rooney, fire-like fury burning in his eyes. "You bastard! Leave him alone!"

Spencer spit on the ground next to him, his saliva mixed with blood. He was surprised at Hotch's anger…and slightly flattered that he was risking a punch in the jaw as well.

Instead of directing a blow at Hotch, Rooney simply jeered down at him. "Isn't this just adorable?" Rooney teased. "You're trying to save your little boyfriend."

_I wish…_Spencer thought to himself. He kicked the thoughts out of his mind. Now wasn't the time.

**LVPD**:

"Okay, seriously. Reid's been acting super strange lately, so I understand if he's running late. But _Hotch_? C'mon now. He's _never_ late!" Morgan crossed his arms in front of him.

"You're right." JJ agreed. "Something's going on."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Rossi spoke up. "And you're right, Derek. The kid has been acting rather unusual lately."

"Do you think that has something to do with what's happened?" JJ asked, worry in her voice. "Does anyone know what's going on with him? Maybe Hotch got involved…."

Kimberlee reluctantly stepped forward. "I promised Spencer I wouldn't tell any of you, but…"

"What is it? What's going on?" Emily asked.

Kimberlee went on. "Spencer made it pretty clear he didn't want me telling you what's been going on, but I think this is an exception." She looked around at everyone. "You may want to take a seat."

**BAU HQ – GARCIA'S OFFICE:**

Garcia reached for her phone as it began to ring next to her desk. "Hello, this is the marvelous Miss Penelope Garcia speaking. How may I be of service?"

"Hey Baby Girl. We really need your help." Morgan said through the phone.

Garcia frowned, catching onto the nerves in his voice. "Sure, what's wrong?"

"It's about Reid…we'll fill you in later. But I need you to –" Morgan was cut off by Garcia.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. Is this about that Micah Rooney thing he was going off about?"

Morgan furrowed his brow. "Huh?"

"He's been having me work some solo case for him. He didn't want me to tell, but…oh well. You know I'm none too good at keeping secrets. I'm worried for him." Garcia explained.

"Did it involve a girl named Hollis Reid?"

Garcia raised an eyebrow and frowned. "Yeah, how did you know that?"

"It's a long story, love. So who's this Rooney guy?" Morgan asked hurriedly.

"He's that man that murdered her in 1988." Garcia said.

"Garcia, I love you so much right now. I'll fill you in later." Morgan hung up the phone. Garcia stared at the phone, her mouth slightly open, confused and filled with a hundred questions.

**MICAH ROONEY'S BASEMENT:**

Hotch leaned back against the basement wall after a failed attempt and freeing himself from the hand restraints. It was useless. He let out a small sigh and looked over at Spencer. Micah had left them alone in the basement, saying that he had an 'errand to run' and he would 'finish dealing with them later', and ever since Spencer had kept his eyes downcast.

Hotch nudged Spencer as best as he could. "How many times do I have to tell you this isn't your fault until you believe it?"

Spencer looked up at Hotch. "Logically, I know that to be true, but emotionally…" He sighed. "I'm a mess."

"The team has to have noticed that something's wrong by now. They'll find us. Hopefully before Rooney comes back. I'm sure we'll be fine." Hotch assured Spencer, as well as himself. Spencer shrugged, skeptical.

"To be honest," Hotch went on. "I'm glad you told me about Hollis. I would much rather be stuck in a basement tied to a wall with you than back at LVPD wondering where the hell you are and whether or not you're okay."

Spencer felt himself flush. That was so genuinely kind of Hotch…so much so, that he was barely able to process it. He felt his heart beat slightly increase.

"I've wanted to tell you for years. I trust you…more so than the others, I believe."

Hotch tilted his head to the side. "Really?"

Spencer nodded with a blush. "I don't know why, really." _Because you love him_. The voice in his head mocked him.

"I know I can trust you, as well." Hotch settled back against the wall. "More so than the others." He smiled at Spencer, who couldn't help but grin back.

TO BE CONTINUED!

**A/N: Okay I am soooooooooooooo sorry for the wait! This chapter literally did not want to be written! Thanks for every single review and favorite and alert that's been given to this story – thank you for giving your time to reading this! (: Until next time 3**

**P.S.: Oh, btw, one of you asked me how to pronounce Hollis. I know it is a weird name, but it's grown on me(: I read it in an amazing book when I was younger called **_**Pictures of Hollis Woods**_**. It's a great read(: But, anyway, Hollis is pronounced "HALL-iss". Kind of like Holly, except with "iss" instead of "ee". It means "Near the Holly" in English, which is why I named that story that. Hope that helps(:**


	7. I Want to Tell Hotch

Near the Holly

Chapter 7

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! This month has been absolutely crazy, and I know that isn't an excuse for not posting, but in all honesty I somewhat forgot about this story entirely! I hope no one forgot about this story as well. It's almost over! :( Thanks so much to everyone who has stuck with it all this time – REVIEW! (:**

LVPD:

"Okay, so if Hotch and Reid did go together to chase down this Rooney guy, I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that they're in trouble." Morgan concluded.

JJ nodded. "They've been gone too long, and their cell phones are both turned off. We need to find out where they could've gone."

"If I were working this case, I'd try Rooney's home address first." Rossi chimed in. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"We need to get there now. Who knows what kind of trouble Hotch and Reid got themselves into." Morgan pursed his lips in worry.

Kimberlee stepped forward, stopping the team members from running out of the LVPD. "I should warn you all, before we go: If Spencer gets the chance, he won't think twice about killing this man. He won't let anyone stand in his way."

The team nodded in harmony once again. Emily spoke up. "It's not much of a surprise. If someone killed my sister, I wouldn't sleep until the son-of-a-bitch was buried seven feet in the ground."

Micah Rooney's Basement:

Rooney peered down at Spencer with a slight smirk on his face. Spencer refused to make eye contact with him, and simply stared straight ahead.

Finally, Rooney spoke up. "You do look exactly like her."

Spencer gritted his teeth, but did not respond.

Rooney reached out and touched Spencer's hair. Spencer flinched at the touch. Rooney smiled. "Your sister didn't want to die, you know. Even once her car flew off the road, she gasped for air and tried to scream for help." He shrugged. "Of course, it's hard to breathe and scream when your throat has been crushed under a metal machine."

Spencer closed his eyes, holding in tears. He didn't want to hear anymore of how his sister had died. He had hoped it had been sudden and that she hadn't felt a thing, but according to Rooney, her last moments were excruciating.

"Oh well." Rooney took his hand away from Spencer, and stood up to his full height. "You'll see her again soon, I suppose." He smiled one last menacing time before turning and walking up the basement stairs.

Spencer tried to hold in a wince, but was unable to. Hotch looked over at him, his eyes filled with sympathy. "We'll get out of this, Spencer." He said softly. "The team will find us."

"Hopefully." Spencer muttered.

A few seconds of silence ticked by before Hotch spoke again. "You and Hollis were close, weren't you?"

Spencer smiled a small, sad smile. "I wanted to be like her. She wasn't quirky or weird or…or…anything like I was." His eyes became downcast.

"I don't find you to be any of those things." Hotch replied honestly. "You're the smartest and most genuine person who I've met in a very long time."

Spencer's heart became to speed up. How much longer could he take this lovesickness? Maybe it was time to tell. He and Hotch were going to die anyhow. At least if he told Hotch his feelings, he'd be able to say that he had no regrets.

"Aaron," Spencer felt butterflies in his stomach at the mention of Hotch's first name. He was really going to do this… "I have to tell you something."

Hotch raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Spencer gathered his courage and cleared his throat. "Well, I – it's just that I…" Spencer flushed. How on earth was he going to do this?

He began again. "Well, I'm tired of hiding my feelings from my friends, especially from you. So, here's the truth."

Hotch titled his head to the side, intrigued and confused. Spencer managed to hold his gaze.

"Aaron…I'm in love with you."

Hotch's eyebrows shot up, and his mouth formed an 'O' shape. "Y-You what?"

Spencer dropped his gaze. "Yeah, I guess it's a bit of a shocker, huh? This is bad timing, too, which doesn't help the situation any. But yes, I love you. Really. I have for about a year now, and I finally got the guts to tell you. So…" Spencer's heart races. _Why'd you tell him, you idiot? He's not into men like you are! You just ruined your only chance of friendship with him! Oh well, you're going to die anyway…_ The little voice in Spencer's head mocked him.

Before Hotch could respond, footsteps were heard on the steps. Spencer let out a small moan. Couldn't Rooney have waited one more minute so he could have at least heard Hotch's response?

Rooney appeared, a gun in his hand. Spencer's heart skipped. Where the hell was the team? Hotch had been wrong – no one was coming to save them.

"Okay, boys. I've gotten bored with the two of you." He pointed the gun at Hotch. Spencer felt a wave of fear crash into him. Rooney looked over at Spencer. "Tell Hollis I say hello."

Rooney cocked the gun. A shot was fired, and Spencer closed his eyes tight together. He tried to scream, but no sound came from his lips.

"Spencer." He heard Hotch's voice whisper from next to him, and Spencer's eyes shot open. Rooney was lying dead on the ground, a bullet to the back of his head. The shot that had been fired had come from Morgan, who was standing on the staircase. Spencer let out a sigh of complete relief. _They were saved_.

Morgan and Rossi ran down the steps to Hotch and Spencer. Rossi began to untie Hotch as Morgan reached Spencer.

"Are you okay, kid?" Morgan asked Spencer, worry written all over his face. Spencer nodded slowly as he watched Hotch stand up and leave the basement with Rossi. He had told Aaron Hotchner that he was in love with him…

Oh. Shit.

Outside of Rooney's Home:

Spencer stood next to a medic van, his heart racing. Hotch had yet to respond to his earlier confession. What if he was freaked out? Or worse…What if he had Spencer removed from the team?

Spencer swallowed hard. He nearly jumped a foot in the air when he felt a hand lay on his arm. He looked over at the person who had touched him. _Hotch_.

Hotch silently pulled Spencer aside, out of ear shot and eye sight of everyone else. Spencer sighed. Dammit, he was going to _scold_ him for what had just happened. _Of course_ Hotch didn't love him back. He was the dumbest genius in the world…

Hotch began to speak. "Well, there are a thousand things I could tell you right now in reply to your, uh, 'earlier statement', but I think that it's best if I just sum it up by doing this."

And then, the most miraculous thing Spencer could have ever expected to happen occurred.

Aaron Hotchner kissed him.

And it was amazing.

After a moment that seemed to defy time, Spencer and Hotch pulled away in need of air. They stood inches apart from each other, breathing heavily. Finally, Hotch spoke up with a small smile.

"It's about time you and I had our first kiss. I've been dreaming about it for months."

Spencer smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.

TO BE CONTINUED…

**A/N: YAY! (: This chapter is finally written! :D It's a bit shorter, but hey, it was well worth it ;) Finally, Hotch and Spencer admit their feelings! Only one more chapter left! Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)**


	8. I Want to Have a Happy Ending

Near the Holly

Epilogue

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: Hello, everyone(: Well, here it is! The end of the story! I want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, and favorite-d this story. You guys are the best! (: **

Spencer's sneakers crunched with each step he took through the grass beneath him. Everything around him was covered in the dew of the early morning, each droplet basking in the warmth of the sun. It was a gorgeous scenario around him, which he found to be rather ironic, considering that he was standing in a cemetery.

It was a small, quiet cemetery, located far enough from the casinos of Las Vegas that no one would come by in a drunken slur during the night to ransack the graves. It was a perfect spot for Hollis to be buried. Spencer approached a rather tall, gray stone grave in the middle of the cemetery. He remembered when Hollis was buried, her grave had been located on the outskirts of the cemetery – now, eighteen years later, graves surrounded her tomb on all sides. Spencer found it simply astonishing just how many people had died since that day. He finally realized just how long these eighteen years had been.

The grave was beginning to age from the elements. Grassy, green mold had started to creep up the side of the tomb, and bird shit, cracked and dried and hardened, was stuck to the top. Spencer frowned and grabbed a tissue from his pocket in order to scrub off the feces. He stood back when he was finished and noticed shriveled up flowers in a glass vase knocked over next to the grave. He couldn't help but smile softly. He had brought those flowers and put them here the last time he had been to Vegas on a case with the team – it was a shock that they hadn't disintegrated yet.

He shook the old flowers out of the glass and placed a new bouquet that he had been holding in his hands in their place. The bleeding heart flowers – Hollis' favorite – were much more sophisticated looking than the dried up ones from two years before.

Spencer peered down at the grave. The engraving was short and simple and sweet - his sister would have hated it. She would have wanted something creative and original and completely out-of-line to put in a cemetery. And she would have loved it. But, instead, she got an old gray stone tomb with a miniature statue of an angel standing on top of it. The words read, "Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die." Beneath, the inscription stated, "Hollis Addison Reid. October 14, 1972 – April 23, 1988. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Her Loving Memory Will Last Forever."

Spencer ran his hand along the top of the grave. "Hey, Sis." He whispered softly. As though in response, Hollis' last words to him rang crystal-clear through his mind. _Don't worry, 'Pence. We'll finish tomorrow_.

Spencer sighed softly. A memory of Hollis fluttered around his mind – her dirty blonde hair, cocoa brown eyes, chiming laugh. As soon as it entered his mind, it flew away just as quickly. His memories of his sister were fleeting as each day passed by him.

"I finally found somebody who loves me." Spencer spoke gently to the grave. His thoughts flashed to Hotch. After their confessions to each other, they decided to begin a relationship together. Only three days had passed, and Spencer had never been happier in his entire life. Everything was falling into place just as it was meant to be. He and the team had wrapped up the serial killer case, and they were headed back to Quantico the next day. Spencer was on his way to visit his mother, and Hotch was going to come along. First, though, he had needed to make this pit stop. Hotch had understood, and said that he would wait for him in the car.

"Your quirky mess of a little brother actually turned out okay." He smiled down at the grave. A bird sang from a nearby perch in a tree, and Spencer swore that he heard Hollis' sing-song laugh echoing from it.

"Spencer brushed a leaf off of the top of the angel's wings on the grave. "Rooney –the man who hurt you - is dead, and I found Hotch. This may not be the super happy ending we wanted as kids, but…it'll have to be good enough." He laid his hand on the grave and sighed with a soft smile. After a moment, he turned away, back toward Hotch and the car.

"Don't forget to pray for me, Hollis." Spencer called out over his shoulder. "I need all the help that I can get."


End file.
